Monthly Archives: January 2011

Tired of handing your customers a stack of 4x6s as their proofs? There has to be a better way of doing this, right? Well good news! f/32 is now offering 4×6 and 5×5 proof books! At the request of J. Davis Photography we have developed a simple and efficient way to present proofs to your clients! Just send us the images and we will take care of the rest! What does “the rest” include? It includes your choice of a white border with a black stroke or a black border with a white stroke, a black or white spiral comb, a clear cover and a black backing. Send your 4x6s in the order you want them in the book and don’t forget your logo! Be sure to e-mail print@f32photo.com or call 865.588.8070 if you have any questions!

Is there something that we don’t currently offer that you would like to see in the future? Let us know! f/32 is always interested in expanding to meet the needs of our customers! These proofbooks are proof!

A girl begins dreaming about her wedding from a very early age, everything must be perfect, the location, the dress and of course, the groom. As the years progress and the time comes to turn this dream into a reality the bride starts to think about all the other things that make this day so special. This is when one of the most important choices are made. Who will perfectly capture all the events of your day? When the departure time comes and you set off on your honeymoon, the realization sets in that you have no idea what happened during a good portion of your day, you want to rest assured that you have all those memories captured to relive over and over. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that Steven Bridges Photography can leave you with a peace of mind and a lifetime of wonderful memories! While there are all of the beautiful and elegant portraits there are always just funny moments that make the best stories and in this case, a picture is worth a thousand words! Congratulations Steven for winning Pro Print of the Week! Keep capturing all of those precious moments that make every little girls dream live on forever!

WARNING: This could be classified as a sappy, sentimental post. Just wanted to warn you:)

Sometime in the month before Christmas, I got to spend some time talking to the wonderful ladies at Memories Portraits. We got into a discussion about how people (parents in particular) have different views about Santa and how they explain these to their children. It was interesting to hear different backgrounds and perspectives. Some people don’t want their kids to “believe” in Santa because they see it as lying to their children. Some people don’t to put any emphasis on Santa because they may feel it takes away from the importance of the birth of Christ and the reason the holiday is celebrated. I intellectually understand both of these points of view and respect where they are coming from. I, however, was brought up in what I thought was the common practice of “believing” in Santa. I somewhat remember when I learned that the man in the red suit didn’t really come down my chimney and leave me presents on Christmas Eve, but it wasn’t like my world came crumbling down. I was about six years old and I found out from a friend. I don’t remember being mad at my parents. Actually, I don’t think I even told them I knew. According to my Mom, as long as you still believed, Santa still came to see you. Now, what smart kid was going to screw that up, I ask you?

I think about those things a lot now that I’m exposed to friends with different backgrounds and different ways of handling the situation. I love Christmas and I’ve come to realize that what I love about Santa is the spirit of Christmas that I relate to him. There is a great book called The Autobiography of Santa Claus that I highly recommend. I realize all kids are different and respond to things in various ways, but I’m glad that my parents let me believe in Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny.

So, in keeping with this walk down memory lane, I pulled out my scrapbooks which have all of my pictures with Santa from birth till about ten years of age. My Mom was always good about making sure she had these made and they never got misplaced. I have pretty vivid memories of going to see Santa. We would usually visit him in this little portable building that sat in the parking lot of the Kroger on Broadway in North Knoxville. It was tiny, and Santa never had a real beard. Santa criteria have seriously come a long way in the last 35 years! You had a few minutes to see Santa, tell him what you would like for Christmas, and then have your one polaroid picture made. Here is my very first picture with Santa:

I wouldn’t trade this picture for anything in the world, but it amazes me how far we have come. When we talk to people about having Santa pictures made at f/32, we discuss how wonderful our Santa is with children, especially the ones who are at the prime ages to be afraid. We make sure they know this is a private 30 minute session with Santa and that we take between 20-40 shots that they will get to view immediately afterward. I know they didn’t do any of this in 1973 at the portable building in front of Kroger. Everytime I went to the mall this year, my heart went out to all of the people who were standing in line with their children to see Santa. I so wanted to go hand out cards to let them know that they didn’t have to stand in line for what might end up being a really disappointing experience. But, I figured the people at the mall might frown upon that:)

Here are a few shots from one session of a dear, sweet family from this year:

When we were talking about our backgrounds with Santa, one of the ladies was telling me about her child asking for a hamster for Christmas. She did not want to get a hamster because it was one more animal for her to clean up after, but her daughter informed her that she would just ask Santa. So, she was faced with a dilemma and decided to give in and get the hamster. Inspired by this, I sat on Santa’s lap myself this year and gave him my wishlist for f/32…”a new building, a larger studio, a hot water heater that works,….” and well, you get the picture. He then gave me a wish list of his own (which also included a larger studio)! So, that didn’t pan out exactly as I thought it would, but I’m still holding out hope and clinging to my wishlist:).

Did you know that on an average day in the US 10,657 babies are born?! That is 3,890,000 a year! That amazes me! A few of these babies are lucky enough to spend some time in front of the camera with our Pro Print of the Week winner, Jason Davis! Newborn portraits are a memory treasured forever and there is no doubt that this one will be! Congratulations Jason Davis of J. Davis Photography! Keep sharing those special memories!

So, the snow has caused a bit of a delay in our first Pro Print of the Week of 2011 but after finally escaping the snow globe we have been trapped in, here it is!

Congratulations to Natalie Watson of Watson Studios for being the first winner of 2011! The originality and exceptional use of the surroundings make this portrait absolutely stunning! Thank you so much for sending us this print!

We look forward to all the other prints that will be coming our way throughout 2011 and can’t wait to post 51 (approximately) more Pro Prints! So as always happy printing and good luck in 2011!

The f/32 Santa Experience 2010 was fantastic! Santa saw lots of smiling children and a few pets too! Everyone came to hear Santa read them a story and have some one on one time with “the big guy” before he was scheduled to make his rounds that cold winter night! With all of the wish lists and promises of cookies I am sure that all the boys and girls as well as Santa had a great Christmas! I hope you had a chance to come in an say hello, but if you missed him, be sure to make it by next year! If you did come by remember you can still order prints here! Check out some of our visitors from this Holiday season!

Don’t forget f/32 has a portrait studio year round and different scheduled events throughout the year! Stay tuned for details of our next event!